The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)
Chapter 12 Twelve

Isabelle walked into the kitchen to the sight of Jacob standing over an overturned recycling bin, with several shattered beer bottles at his feet. He had a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, still as he looked at the mess he had made.

When Isabelle appeared, he looked from the mess to her and then back again. "I...uh..." he began, then went to rub the back of his neck, but realised that was impossible with the dustpan in his hand. So he dropped his hand and shrugged.

Isabelle was relieved that he didn't seem to have hurt himself. But she couldn't help but be amused at how he looked standing there looking at the mess he had made as if not sure how it had happened. He cleared his throat and looked at her. "I was sweeping and then...I hit the bin."

Yeah, she had guessed as much. Stepping forward, she reached for his broom. "Let me clean it up."

"No," he said, stepping back. "Careful," he added, looking down at the shattered glass. "Don't step on them."

Isabelle stepped back from the fallen bin. "Sure you don't need help?"

"I can handle this," he told her, beginning to sweep the shattered pieces together. "But I can't handle you getting hurt because of me."

Isabelle couldn't keep her smile to herself. Did he realise how sweet that sounded? "Okay," she finally gave in, seeing as he really did have a handle on things. Leaving him to his devices, she went back to continue tidying up the living room.

It didn't take much longer for Jacob to clean up his mess and complete the rest of the cleanup. When he looked around the kitchen, he felt satisfied at the result of his efforts. He couldn't remember the last time he had done such intense housework, but it sure felt nice, almost therapeutic.

Leaving the kitchen area, he ventured into the living room. He had caught glimpses of Isabelle moving around but hadn't managed to really see what she was up to. Now, looking at her final result, he couldn't help but stare in awe.

It was the same old living room, the same furniture, but it looked completely different. She had moved the furniture, gotten rid of all the clutter, and seemed to have wiped down every visible surface.

Isabelle turned to face him and indicated the room. "What do you think?" she had a big smile that suggested she was happy with her work.

She had every reason to be, Jacob thought. "It's nice," he told her. Way more than nice. "It looks very different and way better," he added. "Really?" she asked, her eyes shining with joy. "You like it?"

"Yeah," he said, looking around again. There was something about how she had rearranged everything that reminded him of his late mother. His mother was very organised and at all times, everything in their home, down to the smallest details, always looked thoughtfully placed. And, in a way, it made the house more warm, lively. "It reminds me of my mother," he found himself admitting out loud. He didn't care whether that was too much information or not. "She was really good at making a room look like the comfiest place ever."

"Your mother must have been a gentle woman," Isabelle said, smiling softly.

Jacob gazed at her with a small smile. "She is your mother-in-law, you know."

Isabelle looked away in embarrassment when Jacob pointed that out. It was true, it's just that... With the fakeness of their marriage and all, she really hadn't thought of such things. It wasn't as if they had dated and gotten a chance to get to know each other's families.

Jacob headed for the mini-fridge to look for a drink. After all the cleaning, he was feeling thirsty-looked like he wasn't the only one, too. Where Isabelle was sitting at the dining table, she was eating an ice cream. To his disappointment, there was nothing in the fridge. While cleaning the refrigerator in the kitchen, he had noted it was empty too.

Turning away, his eyes landed on the ice cream in Isabelle's hand. He didn't think twice as he took a step towards her, caught her hand in his, and then lifted the cool treat to his mouth. He took a bite and pulled away, enjoying the coolness that filled his mouth. He was aware of Isabelle's wide-eyed gaze at him, and he figured he must have astonished her. All he had been thinking about was quenching his thirst-

His phone rang then, and he retrieved it from his pocket. It was a call from work, so he walked away from Isabelle to receive it.

"I have to go out," he told her a minute later when he got back. "I'm needed at work."

"At this time?" she asked, frowning.

"It's only eight," he told her. "I'll be back before it's too late."

"Okay," she said, and watched as he put on his jacket and coat and left the house.

Even after he was gone, Isabelle's heart still beat fast from what he had done with the ice cream. She never would have expected him to do something like that. It was way too intimate...hell, it was an indirect kiss. She wondered whether he had felt anything while doing it. Did he realise the intimacy of the action? No, he hadn't seemed to notice...

She was probably the only one working herself up over nothing. But still, she couldn't stop thinking about how close his face had been to hers, how his hand had closed around hers, holding her gently... She shook her head as her face grew hot. She really needed to stop letting her thoughts run away with her.

***

When Isabelle woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was check her email to see whether she had any correspondence from any of the companies she had contacted. She was shocked when the first new mail in her inbox bore the Larson Group logo. At first, she thought it must be related to their rejection, but the subject threw her off.

An apology? She quickly opened the email and read it. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The HR department at the Larson Group had sent her an email apologising for unfair evaluation. What's more they gave her a new invitation for another interview.

It was all too good, she almost feared it was a dream. But no, it wasn't, she confirmed after reading the email for the second, third, and fourth time. She also counterchecked the sender. It was indeed the same account that had invited her to an interview before.

She could barely contain her excitement as she hopped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Jacob was still sleeping soundly on the sofa, and she was careful to not rouse him. After he had left for work at night, he had come back at around eleven o'clock. She wondered what job he had, and wished his boss wouldn't call him out at night when he had already had a tiring work day...

While she showered, she wondered what had happened to make Larson Group invite her back. Given that they had apologised for unfair evaluation, she supposed that meant Ann had indeed personally influenced her rejection and had been found out.

Anyway, that was none of her concern anymore. She was determined to ace this second interview too and gain the job fairly. It looked like her dream to work at the best fashion and design company in the industry was still very much alive.